Coming Home
by Literapture
Summary: Frau and Teito return to the church momentarily before continuing on their journey to Seele and Teito has the chance to see his friend again after so long. HakurenxTeito. Oneshot. Fluff as per usual.


**I was getting a little annoyed with myself, what with my only writing countless FrauxTeito fluff fics... so I challenged myself to write something different. So I ended up with _this_; a HakurenxTeito piece! Sorry... I couldn't manage to leave the fluff alone. Unless otherwise motivated, that is just my genre.**

**I've never written Hakuren before so I'm afraid I may have gotten him horribly OOC. Oh, and just to clarify, this isn't meant to be the end of the manga; I just thought maybe Frau and Teito might end up returning to the church for whatever reason halfway through... I mean, what about District Seven's God House?**

**Well anyway...  
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"Stop fidgeting, we're almost there," Frau's voice sounded as though he couldn't quite decide whether to be amused or annoyed. Teito stopped twisting the rag he held in his hands, long enough to glance up and glare before returning to his 'fidgeting'. The rag had originally been a sturdy piece of burlap he'd found lying in the back of the slaver's truck they had managed to get a ride in. It now closely resembled an over-sized raisin, or possibly a sundried prune, what with all his twisting and pulling at the fibers over the past hour or two. Frustration and impatience catching up with him, Teito threw it to the side where it lay in a crumpled heap next to their much-abused bags. With a sigh, he leaned back to rest his head against a wooden beam, hoping the bumps and vibrations from the uneven road outside would distract him from his fried nerves long enough for him to calm down. With his head raised though, he had a clear view of Frau who was still looking at him with a skeptic's brow; one eyebrow raised slightly making him seem almost condescending, an expression that he knew got to Teito all too effectively.

"You'd think," Frau began. "That with a broken leg, three fractured ribs, and a great bloody gash on your arm, you might wanna rest while you have the chance."

Teito looked away. "I'm fine," he mumbled, waving his hand absently, then wincing slightly as he bent his wrist too far, pulling at the freshly healing skin. He glanced down at his arm but the hastily wrapped bandages were still clean so he hadn't managed to tear open the wound anew.

Without warning then, the truck skidded to a stop. The sudden jerk nearly flung Teito off his seat and onto his injured leg. Before he could land though, Frau threw out a strong arm to catch him, dropping him lightly onto his feet while he reached for both their bags.

"Damn brat," he mumbled as he threw his own bag over one shoulder. When Teito reached for his though, Frau lifted it easily out of his reach. "You'll have a time making it to the church as it is. I'm fine carrying these." Teito frowned but didn't bother arguing. Instead, he turned; unhooking the latch on the door and pushing it open to blink in awe at the sight before him.

Barsburg Church, with all its spires, stained glass, and _light_, was as incredible as it had been the first time Teito opened his eyes to what he could tentatively consider his home. While the sun was slowly sinking closer to the horizon, the whole sight had become a sort of half silhouette. With only a few select colors visible, the deep shadows stretching across the grounds only helped to accentuate the height of it all. He could honestly say it was beautiful.

Teito was interrupted from his nostalgia by a light tap on the back. He turned to see Frau, lighter and a cigarette in hand, looking far past him down the path to the Church's front entrance. "Someone was waiting for you," was all he said. Teito spun around. After he was sure he was seeing clearly in the late evening light, he was off, forgetting about his broken leg and hobbling as best he could towards the distant figure running towards him.

"Oi!" Teito heard Frau curse behind him, probably at the stupidity of running on a shattered knee, but he ignored him.

"Hakuren!" Teito yelled, and then blinked at the rawness of his voice. The weak shout hardly covered half the distance he'd meant it too. He suddenly realized the difficulty he was having breathing; every huff was a sharp stab in his broken ribs, and every step shot a burst of pain up from his knee. He forced himself to stop and wait even though every nerve that wasn't already frayed beyond use was urging him to run towards his friend. He looked down for a moment to check his damaged knee then glanced up again only to have his vision filled with a blur of blond and the white of church garments.

"Teito!" a voice breathed in his ear and Teito nearly laughed in relief at the sound of it. He reached around, returning Hakuren's hug despite the pain now throbbing in his arm. He was just glad to have his friend back.

"Jeez, Hakuren, you run fast," Teito tried to say, but his voice didn't sound right. He blinked, trying to force back the shadows growing around the edges of his sight, and realized he was sinking; falling through Hakuren's arms, down towards the ground. His eyes began to close and, for a blurry moment, he could see Hakuren's face, creased with worry, set against the evening sky. And then night caught up with him.

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The rustling of sheets woke Teito and he opened his eyes to blackness. He had to blink a few times before realizing that he was in the Church's hospital ward. He had a sudden flashback to the first time he had opened his eyes to the same room, though then he had been woken by the much louder sound of Frau's impatience. And there had been light then too. Now, the only light came from a far window where the half-moon was visible low in the sky amongst a few scattered stars.

The rustling came again and Teito realized with a start that someone was sitting at the foot of his bed.

"H-hello?" he whispered hesitantly, squinting through the shadows to try to make out who was there.

The rustling stopped. "Teito? You're awake?"

Teito blinked and jerked himself upright, suddenly wide awake. "Hakuren?" he choked and then hissed slightly at the stab of pain as his ribs protested against the sudden movement.

Hakuren noticed his quiet discomfort. "You shouldn't do that," he offered reasonably. "Not when Labrador-san only just re-did all your bandages."

Teito ignored him. With one hand pressing against his chest, keeping the bandages steady, he used the other to push himself forward far enough that he could manage to reach blindly for his friend. His hand found the shadowy outline of Hakuren's shoulder and he held on tightly, half for support and half out of relief that finally he felt he was home.

"I- I missed you," he stammered then blushed without quite knowing the reason why. Hakuren didn't reply immediately, but Teito felt a hand brush his lightly for a moment before pulling back suddenly as though regretting the movement.

Hakuren stood up suddenly. "Bishop Frau has filled us in on the main points of your journey," his voice was emotionless as he stood with his back to Teito. "Including who he is, or was, what happened with Verloren. And about you." At this Hakuren spun around and, with a start, Teito saw in his eyes how hard Hakuren was fighting to hide his distress. Teito opened his mouth to speak but closed it again when he found Hakuren suddenly in front of him, kneeling on the floor beside the bed to look up at Teito.

"And?" he pressed. "It's true? You are truly Pandora's Box?" His violet eyes were wide, catching glints of the pale moonlight, and Teito had to look away for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Yes," he whispered.

Before Teito could move, Hakuren stood up and had turned away, facing his back to Teito once again.

"And even now," Teito strained to make out Hakuren's words. "Verloren is clawing at your soul as you slowly run out of power to hold him back." Fists clenched at Hakuren's sides as he continued to face the far wall rather then Teito.

Concerned, Teito moved his legs off the side of the bed, preparing to stand. As his feet hit the ground, he tensed, expecting a sharp pain from his knee but was surprised when he felt only a dull ache. Looking down, he saw his leg was now held in a sturdy splint, fabric wrapped tightly around his knee to keep it from bending in the slightest while it finished healing. He took an experimental step forward but, as his foot hit the hard marble flooring, he found he was still unable to carry his weight properly. As his leg collapsed beneath him, he made a wild grab for the bed frame to hold himself up, only to feel strong arms reach him first. Hakuren helped him back to his feet but, instead of letting go, he kept his hands resting lightly on Teito's arms.

"Such a troublesome guy," he murmured. Looking up, Teito could see in his eyes all the worry Hakuren felt, and all the pain he was trying to hide. Hakuren closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, still not releasing his grip.

The closeness was doing something to Teito; he felt as though his mind had frozen, or perhaps it was simply racing too fast for him to follow. Before he could realize what he was doing, Teito reached up, closing the distance between him and Hakuren. As their lips touched, Hakuren's eyes flew open for a moment in surprise but he didn't pull away. Instead, Teito felt gentle hands reach around him, pulling him closer as Hakuren's lips moved against his.

Surprised at his own actions, Teito didn't know what to think. Any intelligible thoughts had left his mind leaving only a storm of emotion and the overwhelming feeling that this was _right_. He felt his hands move up to meet behind Hakuren's shoulders, his fingers mixing with loose strands of blond hair, holding tight to his friend as though to close any small breath of space between them.

A sudden, distant noise from the corridor outside brought them back to their senses enough for the kiss to break off. Teito stood there, still in Hakuren's arms, abruptly and awkwardly unsure of where to look. He settled with a spot on the floor, about three inches from his left sock, and stared at it intently, waiting for the silence to be broken. The seconds ticked by and the light from the single window paled to morning's yellow hue. Teito's breathing slowly calmed to a normal pace though his heart continued to beat at an unnaturally hurried rate.

Finally, Teito sighed, giving in to the mounting pressure around them. "I'm sorry, Hakuren," he murmured to the floor, his voice coming out hardly louder then a whisper.

To his surprise though, Hakuren's voice was soft when he answered. "So troublesome," he said again and Teito looked up, eyes wide, to see Hakuren's expression was gentle with even a glint of humor in his violet eyes. He leaned forward slightly so his forehead rested on Teito's, their noses nearly touching.

"I've missed you, too," he whispered.

The sun broke the horizon and Teito felt a true smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

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**Now imma ruin the whole mood and say that I never really saw HakurenxTeito as more then a one-sided thing. Aren't I evil... XP**

**But still, it can be cute and I am kinda proud of this. **

**I'd say I'll try to write other pairings besides FrauxTeito sometimes from now on buuut... I'm getting my doujinshi soon so what do you expect? XP  
I would like to write a MikagexTeito one soon though... 3**

**Aaanyway...**

**Danke für lesen  
Grazie per leggere  
спаси́бо за чтение**


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